The FourSided Statue
by Jolly Jeff
Summary: Four friends create a statue with magical powers. I know it sounds boring, but give it a shot. My first HP story, and also my first with myself as the main character! No real plot yet, I just get ideas and type them. One will eventually evolve, one always
1. Chapter One

It was a wonderful winter day, and all of the students who had not left for the Christmas holidays were outside having snowball fights, or otherwise just resting. Except for four Ravenclaws, who were inside discussing the Defense Against the Dark Arts position.

Jeff, Johnny, Shawn, and Tim were wondering why Professor Dumbledore had re-hired Professor Lupin.

"But still," said Tim, "he can't hire him if the parents of the students don't want him."

"Like I said, he was the only one for the job. No one else wanted to," said Shawn. Johnny nodded thoughtfully.

"And if the parents are afraid that he'll bite someone, that's their problem. They can take their kids out of school. He's the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had," said Jeff, always one to show his opinions, and criticize people he thought needed it.

"This argument is pointless!" said Tim, standing up. "Who cares _why_ he was rehired, as long as he's our teacher again? Let's go outside and make snowmen or something like everyone else is doing!"

            "You guys go. I'm going to stay in here and finish reading _Hogwarts, a History_." Jeff (which stood for Jeffrey) didn't like the cold. "Only a few more pages left."

            "Didn't you read that in your first year?" said Tim crossly. "And your second year, and twice in your fourth year?"

            "Yeah, but I need to jog my memory."

            "Right. How many times can you read a book?"

            "Lots of times. Now go away!"

            "Oh well. See you." And they walked out of Ravenclaw tower and went on their way.

            "Goody!" said Jeff, trying to make an evil cackle. He wasn't as good as he thought he was at it. As soon as he was sure they were gone, he walked over to the window.

            "_Accio snow_!" he whispered fiercely, drawing his wand and pointing it out of the window. A steady stream of snow came swirling off of the ground, before coming straight in the open window. He ducked out of the way and grinned. After a few seconds of splattering sounds, the whole floor to the common room was covered in three inches of snow.

            He waved his wand and cried, "_Abeo forma_!*" In a flurry of sound, the snow rose up into the air and started flying around furiously. After a few minutes, it settled down on the floor in the shape of hundreds of snowballs. Jeff wiped the water off of his face with his already-wet robes and grinned.

            "_Mobiliarbus_!" he cried and the snowballs hovered in the air for a second, before all heading out of the window and hovering in the sky. He walked out of the tower, leaving them floating, and went to the Owlery. He quickly searched out his Great Horned Owl, Jim, and motioned to him. Jim was a big, beautiful brown owl with big, bright yellow eyes. He was majestic, fast, powerful, and smart. Here's a picture of the kind of owl he is: . His eyes are brighter, though.

            As he landed on Jeff's shoulder, Jeff lifted up a letter and tied it to his foot. "We're going to play a little trick, Jim . . .," he whispered. Jim glanced at the letter before hooting softly and flying out of the Owlery window. Jeff hurried back to the Ravenclaw common room.

            The letter he had sent said:

_            Johnny, Tim, Shawn! Urgent news! Come right outside the window to the common room and I'll drop you another letter. Be quick!_

            When Jeff looked out of the window, he could see his friends under it, looking up. He grinned and waved his wand. The snowballs fell down fast and landed on his friends' heads. They looked up, enraged and covered in snow, and Jeff laughed and shut the window. He saw Jim flying toward it, so he opened it again to let him in. As he shut it again, he heard a cry of "_Tarantellegra!_". The window shuddered in its frame and wouldn't stop.

He waved his wand and said, "_Finite Incancatem!_" The window stopped moving. Then he waved his wand at the floor and said "_Wingardium Leviosa_." The water rose into the air and he directed it out of the window, where it fell on his already-wet friends' heads. A few minutes later, they came rushing in the door to the common room, soaking wet, with wands held in the air. They all shouted different curses, but Jeff beat them to it.

"_Expelliarmus!_" he cried, grinning and raising his own wand. All three wands flew out of his friends' hands and into his own left hand. He was about to say something, when all of a sudden there was an urgent, loud tapping noise on the window. Jeff turned around and opened it, walking over. There was a small, white owl holding a parchment envelope. Jeff took it and ripped it open.

_Jeff:_

_AC meeting tonight at midnight. Tell you why when we get there._

_Jacob, plus George, Rob, and Ben._

"Well?" said Tim. "What is it?" The owl had flown off already. Jeff tossed the letter to Tim, who looked it over and tossed it to Shawn, over whose shoulder Johnny looked to read it.

"Sounds good!" said Shawn.

"Yes, but why would he be calling a meeting today? It's Friday. We had a meeting yesterday," said Jeff.

"I don't know," said Tim.

AC was short for adventure Club. Three months ago, Jeff had an idea. Having heard of Harry's D.A., and the supposedly secret map (he had seen it in a crystal ball; he was good at Divination, even though he thought Professor Trelawney's misty approach was going a bit far) that Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew had made, he wanted to leave something secret and unique in the school when he left. So with the help of his three faithful friends, he created a stone statue. It had four sides, and on each side was the solemn-looking face of him and each of his friends, in full 3D. The necks came to a point that widened into a platform so the statue could be stood up.

When each of the four people at the same time touched their wands to the top of the head of their image and said their private passwords, the wands would hover there, the statue would glow, and the four would be sucked into the statue. Inside the statue was a large room (made that way by magic, the statue was only six inches tall and three inches thick at its widest point). Inside the room, Jeff and his four friends trained to be very fast broomstick riders, illegal Animagi, and learned how to Apparate. They also learned how to duel, and many interesting, useful, and dangerous spells.

Naturally, if any adults found out about the Adventure Club, they would be arrested. Apparating this young, and becoming Animagi this young were of course illegal, and they probably weren't supposed to be learning the Unforgivable Curses (hint, hint) and other dangerous spells either. So each time they recruited members for the club, they had them place their wands on the statue and make a solemn, magical oath not to betray the club. Anyone attempting to reveal the existence of the club would immediately forget that it ever existed and would uncontrollably jump off of a tower and break a few bones as punishment. Then they'd of course be out of the club and the club would go on as normal.

Why was the secrecy of the club so important? Well, for one, Jeff and his friends didn't want to be arrested, and two, nobody could find out about their eventual plot. One day, they would use all of their knowledge and power and spells and skills, and start a revolt against Voldemort.

You see, every year, Jeff secretly placed the statue on the bed of one of the leaving seventh-years so that the first-years could find it. The four first-years destined to become part of the AC would find the statue and place their wands against it against their will. The statue would glow and a ghostly body would hover above it. It would explain about the club, and then the first years would be transported to the inside of the statue at midnight the next Thursday, where they would be briefed and made to take the oath by Jeff himself. They would be taught how to access the statue. Then, they would officially be part of the club.

That was the plan. So far, not even a year had passed since the statue had been made. There were only eight club-members so far, Jeff, his friends, and the first-years who had written the note. Next year the statue would find four more people, and they'd have 12. The year after, Jeff and his friends would be gone. Then there would be 12 again. The number would increase until it became 28, where it would stay as students graduated and enrolled.

The statue itself was powerful. It could make the holder invisible, or give them superhuman strength. It could protect them. It was as powerful as two of the makers on its own, as they transferred half of their souls into it when it was created. As they had the potential to be very powerful, however, they didn't seem at all diminished by the loss. And, of course, it could protect them from prying eyes when they went inside it, and allow them to practice Apparating, even though the statue was in Hogwarts, therefore, it shouldn't work.

*** * ***

            At midnight on Friday, Jeff woke up with a start. He looked at his watch ("_Lumos!_") and shook his friends. They got up quietly and Jeff lifted the statue, which was surprisingly heavy, into his hands. Tim, Shawn, and Johnny followed him down to the common room, where they would be less likely to be seen.

He touched his wand to the top of the stone image of his head and whispered, "_Comperio!_" There was a strange rushing in his ears so that he couldn't hear Tim groggily murmur his password. Just when the noise was starting to die down, it grew again and didn't stop until the remaining two people had uttered their passwords. The statue glowed and a second later there was a brilliant flash of light as Jeff and his companions were transported into a square, round-cornered, silver, empty room. Empty, that is, except for a small, six-inch-tall statue in the center of the floor. It was the same stone that was now lying on Jeff's bed.

            Except for one minor difference. It didn't have any power. It was a reproduction; the only thing that was the same was that it looked the same. It you tapped it and said your password, nothing would happen. It was for decoration, and was not important at all.

            "Oh, hurry up," muttered Jeff. They were still waiting for Jacob, George, Ben, and Rob to show up. After a few minutes, the stone in the middle of the floor glowed, and then there were four brilliant flashes of white light, and Jacob and friends stood around the stone.

            "Well?" said Jeff impatiently.

            Jacob stepped forward. "There's a spy in Hogwarts. In Ravenclaw."

            "A spy for who, how do you know, and who or what is he spying on, and to what purpose?" asked Jeff.

            "The spy is that kid, second-year I think, Ryan Coff. He works for Voldemort, I don't know, why, or on who. Actually, I don't even know if he's a spy. I just know he works for Voldemort."

            "Hm. . .," murmured Jeff thoughtfully. "How do you know?"

            "I saw him writing to Voldemort. He thought there was nobody there. I went to the bathroom, and I saw him hiding and writing. He looked up just as I came in and put his quill and parchment away. I Stunned him and then looked at the letter. 'Master, I have news for you. The ones in Ravenclaw, the four that you know of, have. . .' And there was no more. I revived him and sent you the owl."

            "Interesting. The four could be Johnny, Tim, Shawn and I, or you and George, Ben, and Rob, or some other group of four. Somehow I think it's one of the first two."

"Me too," said Tim. "So wha'do we do?"

"Capture him, interrogate him, and erase his memory," said Jeff.

"Or kill him," suggested Tim.

"I don't think we need to be that extreme."

"Why not? He'd do the same. And if that memory spell is broken, Voldemort will know we're onto him." Ben flinched. He was still getting used to hearing the name.

"We'll see," said Jeff. Suddenly, the room started spinning and the occupants were thrown around inside, bouncing off of the ceiling and walls. When the room stopped moving, everyone was lying in various positions on the wall. They knew it was the wall because the replica of the statue they were in was stuck to the floor, which now could be considered a wall.

"Interesting. . ." said a soft, intelligent voice. Jeff recognized it as Ryan Coff. He struggled to his feet, one knee hurting him badly. He limped to the wall and threw his wand at the statue, saying his password.

"Come on," he said. "We need to get out of here. Everyone! Now!" Everyone else climbed to their feet, none injured much except for a bloody nose here or a bruised arm or leg there. They threw their wands at the statue and said their passwords. The replica lit up, and there was a flash of white light as the students were blasted into the Ravenclaw common room. Kneeling down inspecting the statue was a short, blonde boy with sharp features and wand in hand. He stood up and looked at the eight people standing behind him.

There was a flurry of pajamas, and in a split second, eight wands were pointed at Ryan Coff's chest. Jeff stepped forward and nodded back at the others, who slowly put their wands down. Ryan raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"It would seem the odds are against me," he said in his soft voice. "What shall I do? Drop my wand? Put my hands in the air, perhaps?"

"Right now, I'll settle for SHUT UP!" retorted Jeff. Ryan smirked again. But he shut up. Jeff walked forward until his wand was touching Ryan's chest.

"You!" he spat. "Tell me what you've found out about us! And while you're at it, tell me why you're here in the first place! On a spy mission for your master, are you?"

"All I knew is that you four behave oddly and whisper to each other. So I watched you a bit, and listened, and found out about this 'AC' thing.

"I inspected the statue closely because I knew there was something strange about it. I tapped it with my wand. I talked to it. I told it the password to Ravenclaw tower. I told it your names. I told it I was you. Nothing happened.

"Sorely disappointed, I finally threw it across the room with a spell I know to test if it had the normal properties of stone. It didn't. A normal stone would have shattered. And then, to my surprise and delight, you eight came out. And now, I will finish the work I should have started a long time ago." He rolled up his sleeves and pulled out his wand, raising it high above his head.

"_Expelliarmus!_" bellowed Jeff, shoving his wand into Ryan's chest. Ryan went flying backwards, crashing into the wall, as his wand flew the opposite way, going over Jeff's head and landing at Tim's feet at the other end of the room. Tim picked it up and snapped it in half.

"Thank you," said Jeff.

"No prob!" grinned Tim.

Ryan Coff stood up, a nasty look on his face. "Nice try," he said. He snapped his fingers. His wand flew out of Tim's fingers and into his own. The dragon heartstring inside was still intact, so the wand could be used.

He dropped the pieces of wood and muttered, "_Ferula!_" White bandages shot up the heartstring. It was now a thin, flexible white blob containing the heartstring. Ben wondered how it could work on itself; Jacob said that he supposed it could if he bent it to point at itself.

Ryan lifted it and said, "_Avis!_" There was a loud noise, and several birds flew out of the end of the makeshift wand.

"It works!" he said, sounding almost surprised.

"_Avada Kedavra!_" He bellowed, raising it again. One of the birds (who had perched o chairs near the fireplace) fell onto the floor in a flash of green light.

"My wand, although not very pretty in its current state, has proved itself to be in good enough condition to use the one spell I need," smirked Ryan. He raised the wand and opened his mouth.

"_STUPEFY!_" shouted three voices. Two shouted "Expelliarmus," two said "Impedimenta," but one alone, out of the eight AC members present, thought of the Torturing Curse.

"**_CRUCIO!_**" bellowed Jeff at the top of his lungs, stabbing Ryan with his wand. Ryan immediately dropped his wand and fell to his knees, mouth open in shock, hands tightly clenched in fists, eyes rolling around wildly in his head. He shut them tightly and gritted his teeth, starting to sweat. He didn't utter a sound. For all nine wizards, the scene seemed to last forever.

Finally, Jeff lowered his wand. Ryan let out a sigh and fell to the ground gratefully.

"Get up!" ordered Jeff. Ryan didn't move.

"_Ennervate,_" he muttered reluctantly. "Up!" he said again sharply. Ryan groaned and slowly got to his feet. To everyone's surprise and shock, he was wearing his signature smirk.

"You don't _seriously_ think a trained servant of the Dark Lord would fall _that _easily? You are a fool. Let us see who would win in a fair duel between you and myself." Jeff looked back at his friends momentarily before stepping forward and nodding. They were about to start when the door to the common room from the boys' dormitory opened and in stepped Joey Uspin, a third-year. Jeff's eyes bulged as he hastily shoved his wand in his pocket. His friends followed suit quickly. Ryan, apparently not wanting anyone to know his secret, also put his wand away. Or rather, his bandaged dragon heartstring.

"What's going on?" said Joey narrow-eyedly.

"Nothing," said Ben quickly.

"We were about to have a duel," said Jeff, stepping forward, "Because he"--he gestured with his head at Ryan--"thinks he's better at magic than me." Still suspicious, Joey walked over to a table and picked up a book, which he had apparently forgotten before he went to bed. He then marched back to the dormitory.

"You have eluded death on more than one occasion," Ryan snarled when he was gone, "Because of unfortunate circumstances: Mr. Uspin walking in, your friends helping you, although their spells had no effect for some reason, and my curiosity as to find out more about your club before I killed you. Now, to business." He and Jeff walked forward and turned around. Then, they both walked forward ten paces before spinning around and shouting spells.

"_STUPEFY!_" roared Jeff, at the same time as--

"_AVADA KE--!_" bellowed Ryan furiously. Jeff's spell was shorter, therefore quicker; Ryan fell to the floor knocked out before he even finished his spell. Jeff put his wand back in his pajamas.

"Aren't you going to kill him?" asked Tim, stepping forward and relaxing with all of the other members of the AC.

"Not yet," said Jeff. "I'm going to make him drink some Veritaserum and answer a few questions. Then we'll kill him."

"And where do you think we're going to get Veritaserum?" asked Shawn.

"We've got a few options: Make some, steal some from Snape, or find some somewhere else."

"Like where?"

"I've got a suspicion." Jeff stepped forward and muttered "_Accio Veritaserum!_" Out of Ryan's pocket shot a tiny vial of clear liquid. Shawn and the others stared at him speechlessly.

"What?" he said finally. "I thought that he would probably have some, seeing as he was going to try to find out some stuff from us." Shawn shrugged. Jeff tried to open the vial. Nothing happened. He twisted and pulled.

Finally, he tapped it with his wand, muttering "_Alohomora!_" He twisted the cap again. Still nothing. He finally threw the vial at the floor as hard as he could. There was a loud sound of metal hitting metal, even though the vial was glass, but other than that, nothing happened. Jeff picked up the vial and walked over to his statue, lying on the floor. He picked it up and pushed the top of the vial into the mouth of his face on the statue. The mouth opened and closed over it, and the statue glowed blue for a moment. Jeff pulled the vial out of the statue and twisted the cap. It came off this time.

He walked over to Ryan and forced his mouth open. He carefully dripped three drops into his mouth.

"_Ennervate!_"

*I needed a spell, so I found a Latin Translator () and searched for change and shape. I came up with **abeo : to digress/ _change_/ vanish, disappear. **And **forma: forma, _shape_, beauty. **Thus, change shape.I'll use the translator again if I need a spell and can't make one up. If you see one you haven't heard, you'll know.


	2. Chapter Two

            Ryan's eyes flickered open.

            "You!" snapped Jeff.

            "Yes?" said Ryan. His voice was almost robotic; his usual smirk was missing from his face.

            "Why did you come to Hogwarts?"

            "I was sent by my master, the Dark Lord," he replied.

            "I know that, you idiot!" spat Jeff. The fact that Ryan was behaving more civilized at the moment did not make Jeff forget that he served Voldemort.

            "Six years ago, when Lord Voldemort--"

            "Yeah, yeah. Why did he need you at the school?"

            "We were to keep an eye on Harry Potter. He had Professor Quirrel, but he also needed students. Professor Quirrel did not attend every lesson. Professor Quirrel did not 'get to know' Harry. He needed a student in every house."

            "Who was the student in Gryffindor?"

            "We were not told the students in the other houses."

            "Oh, that's convenient," snorted Jeff.

            "We have outlived our usefulness, however. Now that Voldemort has returned to complete power, he does not need spies within the school."

            "What about that letter? Jacob saw you writing a letter to him in secret."

            "We do not need to watch Harry Potter. We now devote ourselves to keeping an eye out for other suspicious activity in the Castle."

            "What does my club have to do with that filth?!"

            "You are awfully brave to call him that. . ."

            "You're filth too! Now answer the question!"

            "Your plot to one day overthrow the Dark Lord concerns him. Not that you would be able too."

            "I've had enough of this! You obviously have no useful information for me, or you're too stupid to know what I'm asking for! I'm going to erase your memory now. But one last question--how did you know about our plot to overthrow you?"

            "I heard you whispering in the halls. I learned many other things this way also. Now are you done questioning me?"

            "I suppose. Unless I can think of any last minute questions."

            "Well, hurry up!" snarled Ryan. "I tire of this!" He was no longer speaking in his robot voice. He was also getting more like his old self and less like the tamed, willing person the Veritaserum had turned him into.

            "The Veritaserum is apparently wearing off," commented Jeff.

            "I've noticed!" said Ryan, standing up and pulling out his bandaged dragon heartstring.

            "_Expelliarmus!_" cried Jeff, also standing up and pointing his wand at Ryan. Ryan's dragon heartstring slipped through his fingers and flew at Jeff. Jeff caught it.

            "_This_ you may have back after I've erased your memory!" he snarled.

            "Oh, no you don't!" cried Ryan, leaping forward.

            "Control yourself," said Jeff calmly, stepping backward. "It'll be over in a minute—_Impedimenta!_" he shouted as Ryan leaped at him again.

            "Why don't we just kill him?" said Tim, stepping forward next to Jeff.

            "Use your brain, Tim--I know you have one! If Voldemort lost contact with one of his servants, don't you think he'd realize? And it would probably be in the papers, too--!" He was cut off as Ryan suddenly grabbed his neck and started to squeeze.

            "_Ex_--_Ex--_" he gasped, trying to perform a Disarming Charm.

            "Get your filthy hands off!" snarled Tim, just as Jeff was about to faint from lack of oxygen. "_Reducto!_" Ryan was hit in the stomach and thrown backward onto the floor. It was his turn to gasp for breath.

            "Well, this is fair," said Ryan softly. "Two against one, and the latter doesn't even have a wand." Jeff considered himself (relatively) honorable; he tossed the bandaged heartstring back to Ryan and even tossed him the wood for the wand.

            "_Reparo!_" muttered Ryan, and the pieces of wood came together around the heartstring, whose bandages were now lying on the floor in front of him. He lifted the wand.

            "Now, you die!" he said.

            "I doubt it," said Jeff. "_Obliviate!_" Ryan's eyes suddenly gained a glazed look. He almost dropped his wand.

            "What time is it?" he said. He looked down at his wrist. "Huh? What are you all doing up at midnight?" He said suspiciously. "Wait a second. . .this might be the chance I've been waiting for. . ."

            "Not this again!" groaned Tim. "Why didn't you make him forget about us?"

            "If he was in contact with Voldemort, and he told Voldemort about something, and Voldemort mentioned it but Coff didn't know what he was talking about, don't you think Voldemort would be suspicious?"

            "Oh yeah."

            "_Avada Ka--_" Ryan began, but Tim was quicker.

            "_Stupefy!_" Ryan collapsed on the floor immediately.

            "Good," said Jeff. "You guys go back to bed. I'll handle him." The others glanced at each other. Tim shrugged and started to walk away, and the others followed.

            "As for you," muttered Jeff under his breath, "_Obliviate!_" Ryan didn't move a muscle. Jeff walked until he was almost out of the door before whispering "_Mobilicorpus!_" Ryan lifted up into the air like a floating mummy. He floated after Jeff as he walked up the stairs, and Jeff made him fall into his bed before lifting the spell. Everyone in the AC was sitting up in bed waiting for an explanation.

            "When he wakes up, he'll still know what he did before tonight, but he won't remember tonight at all," whispered Jeff.

            "Good," said Jacob. Everyone lie back down and fell asleep.

            The next morning, Jeff observed Ryan Coff carefully. He noticed that Ryan got an owl in the morning at breakfast.

            He took the letter from the owl and looked at it. He was not smiling. He looked at it for a long time. Then, his face got a grim expression on it. He suddenly shot a look of loathing straight at Jeff. Jeff looked away quickly, hoping he hadn't noticed him watching.

            After breakfast, Ryan approached Jeff in the hall. "Come with me. I have to show you something." Jeff looked at Tim, who was standing next to him, and made a motion with his head that clearly said "come".

            Jeff put his hands in his pockets in a pretense of casualness, curling his fingers around his wand and opening his mouth so as to be as prepared as possible to defend himself.

            When they arrived at Ravenclaw tower, Ryan said the password distractedly. As they walked inside, Ryan suddenly whirled around and aimed his wand at Jeff.

            "_Stupefy!_" shouted Jeff, yanking his wand out of his pocket before Ryan could do anything. He went right back out of Ravenclaw tower and headed toward the library. On his way, he saw a rat running along the floor. It saw Jeff and squeaked, scampering even faster. Jeff followed it up to Ravenclaw tower. It paused for a second, then kept walking the other way. Now Jeff was sure something was up. He went into Ravenclaw tower and walked over to the statue in the boys' dormitory.

            "I need to speak to Jacob," he said, picking it up. Immediately, a revolving, translucent figure of Jacob's head burst from the top. The head was moving slowly up and down as if its owner were walking. Jeff knew that Jacob had seen Jeff's head appear in front of him in midair, although no one else could see it.

The head turned to the side and said to the air, "One second," before turning to Jeff and saying, "What is it?"

"I need to borrow your invisibility cloak. Quickly!"

"Oh," said Jacob. "I have it here. . .hold on." After a second, in which Jacob's head looked down and muttered "_portus_", Jacob's head was sucked back into the statue, and Jacob himself appeared standing nest to Jeff.

"Here," he said, shoving the cloak into Jeff's hands. "I made it a Portkey so I could get it to you quicker. Bye!" And he strode out of the dormitory and out of the tower.

Jeff put the shiny cloak around him and looked down. Where his legs should've been, there appeared to be nothing. Good. Jeff ran out of the tower in pursuit of the strange rat he had seen, whom he was sure now was Wormtail, a servant of Voldemort (yes, he knew about Wormtail too.) On his way out, he saw a short, sweating middle-aged man walking in and looking about. Aha! So he was correct. He wriggled back in before the door closed. Wormtail seemed to sense that someone was there; he looked about nervously before jumping at the sight on the floor. Ryan, of course, was still lying there.

"_En--Ennervate!_" squeaked Wormtail, pulling out a wand. Jeff noticed that his right hand was shiny silver. Ryan rolled over and opened his eyes.

"Ah!" he said at the sight of Wormtail, jumping up and running backward. "You! II thought--"

"Is he dead?" said Wormtail nervously. "They, I mean."

"Well, er, actually, I, uh. . .oh no. . ." his voice trailed off and he had a horrible look on his face. A look of absolute terror.

"Shall I tell Him that you did?" squeaked Wormtail, looking about nervously as if expecting someone to be spying on him.

Suddenly, the fir in the fireplace turned green, and out climbed who could only be one person. Lord Voldemort was inside Hogwarts.

His face and hands were completely white. His nose was flat and his eyes were red. His robes were pure black.

"Do you attempt to protect your friend, Wormtail? By lying to me? He had a task presented to him, and he did not complete that task. He will be fittingly punished. He did not kill those he was charged with killing; therefore, he will be killed himself. I have no use for a servant who disobeys me. And Wormtail!" He turned sharply to Wormtail and continued in a bare whisper. "You wish to lie to me? To protect your worthless friend?"

"My Lord!" squeaked a terrified Wormtail. "I--I--"

"_Crucio!_" laughed Voldemort, lifting his wand. Wormtail fell to the ground, writhing and screaming.

"And you," said Voldemort softly, turning to Coff and ignoring Wormtail's screams. "You are given orders, and choose not to carry them out?"

"No, My Lord!" shrieked Coff, just as terrified as Wormtail now, backing away. "I will do it! I will kill them! I don't know what happened! Last night--I know I was going to get up and kill them at midnight! I put a spell on myself so I would sleep just the right amount of time! And--I--I can't remember what happened. I know I got up. But I can't remember anything else."

"Is that so?" asked Voldemort softly, finally lifting his wand. Wormtail slumped to the floor. Voldemort took no notice. He suddenly hissed, "I smell trickery! There is someone in this room!" He sniffed the air and suddenly looked straight at the spot where Jeff was standing. Jeff froze. "Show yourself!" cried Voldemort.

Jeff suddenly dived for the fireplace, throwing the cloak onto the floor and grabbing a tin of Floo powder. He tossed the whole tin into the fire, which suddenly turned green, and shouted "Home!" He jumped in as Voldemort stared.

Jeff climbed out of the fireplace at his house. His Muggle parents were sitting and talking and Jeff said "Sorry!" as they stared at him. He tossed some Floo powder that he had at home into the fireplace, this time heading for Professor Dumbledore's office.

When he got out on the other side, Professor Dumbledore was not in his office. The door to the office opened and Jeff said, "Professor Dumbledore, Vol--" but it was not Professor Dumbledore who had entered. It was Professor Snape.

"Where is the headmaster?" said Snape coldly. "And what are you doing in his office? You're the American boy, are you not?" he added, squinting at me.

"Yes, sir," I answered. "I don't know where Professor Dumbledore is; I was looking for him."

"Hasn't anyone taught you _manners_?" snarled Snape. "You _knock_ before you enter. Or perhaps that custom isn't observed in the U.S.?"

"No, sir, it's just that--"

"_Silence_! 10 points from Ravenclaw for a lack of respect. Wait here, and I shall get the headmaster." With a swish of his cloak, he was out the door.

"Wait, sir! It's urgent!"

"_What_ is it now?" said Snape, turning back around, his face livid.

"Voldemort! He's in the castle!"

"What is this nonsense?" shouted Snape furiously. "Detention, and another 10 points from Ravenclaw for lying! And refer to him as You-Know-Who."

"Yes, sir," replied Jeff sullenly, not planning to obey the command about Voldemort's proper name at all. As Snape turned around to leave Dumbledore's office, Dumbledore himself walked in.

"Is there a problem, Severus?" he asked calmly.

"This boy--"

"Professor, Voldemort's--"

"SILENCE!" raged Snape. "I am speaking; you do not interrupt!"

"Severus, calm yourself!" said Professor Dumbledore sternly. Then, turning to Jeff, "You were saying something about the Dark Lord?"

"Yes, sir, he's in the castle! In Ravenclaw tower!"

"Indeed?" said Dumbledore, standing up abruptly.

"It is clearly nonsense!" yelled Snape. "Do you really think that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has gained entry to the school grounds, Dumbledore?"

"Anything is possible, Severus. You say he is in the tower?"

"Yes, he has spies in all of the houses, the one in Ravenclaw is Ryan Coff. One of my friends caught him writing to Voldemort--"

"It could be a silly child's trick! Writing fake letters to the Dark Lord?" said Professor Snape.

"Severus, if you cannot restrain yourself, I must ask you to leave my office," said Dumbledore in his always-calm voice. "Please lead the way to Ravenclaw tower," he said, turning back to Jeff.

"You are a fool, Dumbledore! You trust everyone! He is wasting valuable time--" Snape stopped at the look on Dumbledore's face. His eyes were blazing, and he was standing up and staring in what was unmistakably hatred at Snape.

"Bartemius Crouch, Jr." said Dumbledore simply. Jeff was confused.

"Crouch has had his soul sucked out through his mouth in front of witnesses!" said Snape. "Be realistic!"

"Oh, I'm being realistic," said Dumbledore.

"Do you not realize--" BANG. A long, thin rope shot out of Dumbledore's now-raised wand and curled itself around Snape, tightening until Snape's (or Crouch's) eyes were bulging.

"Come, Praevalens," said Dumbledore. (In case you're wondering, that's not my real last name, although Jeff is my real first name and I've based the character on my own personality. If you'll click on the URL that I've provided in the previous chapter and search (CTRL+F) for Praevalens, you'll find out what it means.)

"Do I have to?" asked Jeff.

"You may wait outside, but be sure that no harm will befall a student in this school while they are in my presence," replied Dumbledore, and he set off toward Ravenclaw tower with Jeff trailing along behind.

            When they arrived there, Dumbledore turned to Jeff. "If you do not wish to come with me into Ravenclaw tower, you may go into Professor Snape's office and find the real Professor Snape." Jeff set a course for Snape's office.

            "And before you go!" said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling. "20 points to Ravenclaw, for the points that Mr. Crouch took away."

"Thank you, sir," said Jeff, and he went on his way. When he arrived in Snape's office, he didn't see anyone.

"Professor Snape?" he called.

"What are you doing in Professor Snape's office?" snarled a passing Slytherin Jeff recognized as Draco Malfoy.

"Professor Dumbledore sent me," said Jeff, ignoring the boy as he called him a liar and said that he had seen Professor Snape go into the headmaster's office, so how could he be here? He looked around and called again. There was a banging noise, and suddenly Professor Snape's desk exploded; Snape himself emerged from inside, his robes very dusty and wrinkled.

"You, boy, what do you want?"

"Professor Dumbledore sent me to find you."

"Where is the headmaster?" asked Snape.

"In Ravenclaw tower, fighting Voldemort," answered Jeff truthfully.

"Is that so? Well, then, take me there! I need to tell the headmaster something." Jeff shrugged and started to walk out of the office.

"Don't you shrug at me, boy! 20 points from Ravenclaw. Now take me to Ravenclaw tower." Jeff once again set out for Ravenclaw tower, this time with Snape trailing along behind.

When they arrived, Snape turned to Jeff and said "Well?"

"I don't want to go in there, sir, Voldemort's there. . ."

"Is that so? Well, tell me the password and I'll go in."

"Fiddle sticks."

            "What do you mean by that?"

"Fiddle sticks! That's the password." The door to the tower opened, and Professor Snape entered a completely Voldemort-free room.

"Idiot boy, jabbering on about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, when there's no one in there! Ten points from Ravenclaw."

"I'm afraid I must ask you to give those points back, Severus," said Dumbledore's calm voice as Dumbledore himself stepped into view. "Why are you so dusty?"

"Excuse me, headmaster, but Barty Crouch is alive!"

"Ah, yes. I in fact saw him myself in disguise as you, trying to stall me from getting to Ravenclaw tower in time to catch Voldemort."

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was here?" said Snape, his nostrils flaring.

"It is so. He fled at the sight of me, however, taking his servants with him. Now, the points?"

"Very well," grumbled Snape. "Ten points to Ravenclaw."

"And fifty more, I think, would be appropriate, considering the immediate danger the school would have been in had young Praevalens not alerted me off about Voldemort's presence."

"I don't think Voldemort would have done anything except kill his servant, I'll explain in a second, and then leave."

"Nevertheless, I'm afraid I cannot allow the Dark Lord to enter the school. And now would you explain what you meant about killing his servant? Come, come, let us talk in my office. Severus, please accompany us, I want a word with you anyway."

Jeff and Snape followed Dumbledore into his office, where Barty Crouch was still tied up. Jeff told Dumbledore about realizing that Coff was a spy, and their midnight battle, being careful to leave out the part about the secret AC.

Something in the way that Dumbledore asked "Is that all?" made Jeff feel that Dumbledore knew something; nevertheless, Jeff told him that it was.

"Now, I believe that it is time to question Crouch?" said Dumbledore, still staring at Jeff piercingly. He finally looked away and forced three drops of Veritaserum into Barty Crouch's mouth, although he struggled. He then untied Crouch and began his questioning.


End file.
